Along the Trail
The Hawaiian Trail & Mountain Club Newsletter
July - August - September 2005
+ + + + + IN MEMORIAM
LLOYD E TALCOTT
The Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club lost another old time member with the death of Lloyd Talcott, 93, on March 30, 2005. Lloyd was an electrical engineer at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard before he retired. He was an intelligent man with definite opinions, and little patience with those who might not share them. When I first joined the Club in the early '60's he was one of the most active members. As a hiker, he was a large, hard-driving man with a competitive spirit, who liked to be the first one to reach the summit, although he often had much competition in this regard from Ski Poles, Harold Chapson, Dick Davis, Herman Medeiros, and other old timers of similar spirit. After he retired, he joined other HTMC members Harry Whitten, Phil and "Charlie" (Florence Chan) Adams in starting the first of our Wednesday hiking groups, the "Over the Hill Gang." He was the last surviving founder of that group. He hiked regularly with this gang well into his 80's and even at that age tended to have only one gait-- "full speed ahead"--although he became increasingly frustrated as his waning strength, balance, and eyesight reduced this gait to a relative crawl. Although he mellowed a bit with age, I will always remember him with a certain fondness, for his cranky "edge". Farewell, old comrade.John Hall
Lloyd Talcott was 93 when he left us on March 30. He hiked until he was 92 with the Over the Hill Gang and was an active HTMC member for many years. His memorial was held in Punchbowl on April 8, and we spread his ashes on several trails. I hope I will be hiking at age 92. Aloha, Lloyd.Deetsie Chave
ANNUAL MEETING
Mike AlgiersThis year's annual meeting was held on the 24th of April, which is later in the month than usual, but despite this change, it was widely publicized, and the meeting was well attended, with nearly 80 members present. Part of the reason for the good turn out, was that the members were being asked to consider three important pieces of business with far reaching consequences for the Club.
The first item was a series of changes to the Club's Bylaws. The proposed changes were the result of many meeting and long hours of preparation by a blue-ribbon committee led by John Hoover. The committee carefully examined the bylaws for outdated or confusing sections, rewrote them, and made sure all sections meshed well with other sections. As a result of their professional work and presentation, all of the bylaws changes passed. The complete bylaws may be viewed on the Club website. http://aditl.com/htmc
The second item on the agenda was whether to build a new clubhouse, or renovate the existing structure. Dick Cowan's Replacement Committee worked long and hard for the past year to generate ideas and plans for a possible new building, and presented two ideas to the membership at the meeting. There was considerable discussion, which centered primarily on the financial aspect. In the end, the members finally decided that we couldn't afford new construction at this time, and voted nearly 2 to 1 to renovate the existing clubhouse rather than tear it down and build a new one.
Third, the members voted to approve the installation of a new septic system to replace our outdated cesspool. This is an EPA requirement that we could no longer avoid unless we resorted to using a port-a-pottie. The members further authorized the Board of Directors to exceed the $2000 spending cap, and pay for this septic system out of the Replacement Fund.
Lastly, we bid farewell to three Directors, Ed Gilman, Ralph Valentino, and Justin Ohara, and thanked them for their years of conscientious service to the club. Three new faces were elected to the Board to replace them, Darrell Teruya, Christine Lanning, and Tom Mendes, and we welcomed them aboard! Mike Algiers was reelected to another term.
Subsequently, at the next Board meeting, the Directors elected their officers, which included Mike Algiers President, Myra Dombrowski Vice President and Darrell Teruya Treasurer. Ena Sroat remains Recording Secretary, and Laura Owens remains Accountant.
TRAGEDY AVERTED ON OLOMANA
[On last December 12, two members of the HTMC trail-clearing crew fell while climbing between peaks 2 and 3 on Olomana. Below, Dayle Turner describes what happened]
Tragedy was averted at yesterday's Olomana trail maintenance outing. Two members of our group fell--in one case falling 150 feet and in another 125. Both were able to hike out.
Mel Yoshioka was the first to fall, doing so while descending from Peak 2 to the saddle between 2 & 3. He fell to the mauka side of the mountain, "taking out four trees" as he careened down the mountainside, according to Mike Algiers, who was ahead of Mel on the descent at the time. At that moment, the group I was with, which included my wife Jacque, was making the final approach to the summit of Peak 3, having just made our way past the hole-in-the-rock section and climbed the steep roped section just past that.
As were making our way carefully along, I stopped when I heard loud crashing thru the trees behind me back toward Peak 2. At first, I thought it was a boulder someone had dislodged. I'd heard the sobering sound before. It was different this time, though. Interspersed with the sounds of impact on trees and bushes and rocks were yells from a human voice. My God, someone had fallen. My heart sank at that moment. But there was also an adrenaline rush. Who was it? Could he (or she) possibly have survived that fall?
I yelled out to those near me, including Jacque who was just ahead of me, that someone had fallen and to head back toward the P2/P3 saddle. I then realized that in our angst and adrenaline-laden state we were moving hastily down the ridge. Not wanting another accident, I told Jacque and others within earshot not to rush, especially along the narrow and sheer ridge of P3.
"We can't help the person who fell if we fall," I said.
I was the first of our group to reach the top of the long, steep roped section just prior to the hole in a rock. Jacque was right behind me and Dick Cowan right behind her. As I went down the section, I told Jacque to wait until I was clear before she descended. As I neared the bottom of the rope, I was extra careful, moving slowly to get down what I consider the worst rock area of the P3 ridge. As I repositioned my body chest-to-rock to climb down, I noticed Jacque was just a few feet behind me, having descended the section before I was clear. I scolded her for not waiting until I was down. Sad-faced, she settled into a little niche in the rock to wait till I had finished the descent of the section. Once I was down, I yelled that I was clear. Jacque then followed.
I continued descending, looking forward to negotiate the still narrow ridge line, when I heard Dick yell, "Oh shit!"
"What is it?" I yelled back.
"Jacque fell!" was the reply.
Knowing where she had fallen from, I thought the unthinkable--she was gone. I first yelled, "Shetttt......" at the top of my voice. And then, with tears welling in my eyes and my heart feeling like it had been pierced, I yelled her name, equally as loud. Amazingly, thanks to God, there was a reply. It was that familiar voice--Jacque's. She yelled my name, in a clear, loud response. I'll always remember that. The beautiful sound of her voice.
The next order of business was to try and get to her. Dick took the lead, affixing a 100 foot rope to a fixed pin in the rock. Right where the hole-in-the-rock makai bypass regains the main ridge, Dick went down on the mauka side. He followed a shelf, partially protected by Christmasberry.
After disappearing around a cleft in the ridge, he found Jacque. She was okay, he said. She had some cuts on her head and plenty of abrasions and bruises, but she was okay. Dick proceeded to apply a bandage (actually a feminine napkin and duct tape) to Jacque's head wound. Dusty Klein and Ed Gilman also followed the shelf to assist. They helped Jacque back to the trail. Mahalo to them.
During this time, we found out via walkie talkie transmissions that the person who had fallen first was Mel, who miraculously despite a long crash-and-tumble plunge, was able to climb back to the P2/P3 saddle area with and assist from Mike, who threw Mel a rope.
After getting Jacque back to the trail, we all headed back carefully down to the P2/P3 saddle. Jacque, even after her brush with death, was upbeat and full of energy, describing her fall and the three to four times she bounced before finally coming to a stop on her back, upside-down, with one leg hooked around a tree. At that point, she had the wherewithal to climb up 25 feet to a higher, safer location where Dick ultimately found her.
At the saddle, we came upon Mel and others who were huddled around him to assist. He was banged up and had pains in his ribs (a later hospital visit indicated that he had three ribs broken). Though being banged up herself, Jacque, who works in the Queen's Medical Center ER, helped tend to Mel. Amazing!
At that point, we formulated a plan to descend a "trail" Scott Villiger had marked. It went makai from the saddle to eventually reach the old Kalanianaole Highway. This exit seemed to be a better option than climbing back up to Peak 2 then Peak 1 then descending Peak 1 back to the trailhead. With walkie talkies and cell phones, we even arranged to have trucks (driven by Bill Gorst, Mabel Kekina, and Peter Kempf) waiting to pick us up.
This descent took us about an hour. We kept an eye on Mel and Jacque as we hiked. Plenty of support and good cheer from good people.
Mahalo to Scott for leading us down, and to Tom Yoza, Jason Sunada, Ed, and others for doing some clearing to make the way easier to negotiate. Just as we had worked out, the trucks were waiting for us when we hiked out. We were all driven over to Castle Hospital. Jacque and Mel, though banged up, will recover in time. Both, I'm sure, will do plenty of hiking in the years ahead.
An eventful day on the mountain. No doubt God was smiling on us all.
WAIAHOLE DITCH EXPLORATION
Richard McMahon
Recently, Ed Gilman and Scott Villiger explored a section of the old Waiahole Ditch Trail which runs generally south from the Kuolani-Waianu Loop that HTMC hikes as part of its usual repertoire. On March 6, a small party consisting of Fred Boll, George Shoemaker, Jim Haas, and myself decide to hike the route pioneered by Ed and Scott.Starting at the usual trailhead at the end of the south branch of Waiahole Valley Road, we followed the normal route, through the bamboo, crossing the stream twice, and then paralleling the south bank up the rocky trail.
Just where the climbing levels out is the point where the club trail joins the ditch trail. Here, the club route continues straight a short distance and then turns right, now following the ditch trail. Instead, we turned left, and began hiking the ditch trail south, instead of north.
Although initially somewhat obscure due to overgrowth, the trail soon became obvious. It is a contour all the way, with few ups and downs, but passage was obstructed by thickets, fallen trees, rock slides, and landslides. There were fine views along the way, and at one point the trail goes through a short tunnel in the rock.
It took almost three hours of slow going to reach the tunnel at the head of Waiahole Valley, and the south end of the ditch trail. There, we connected to the dirt access road and proceeded down-valley, through the Waiahole Base Yard, and on out to our starting point, completing an almost 5-hour loop. Although the mauka entrance to the base yard was open, because it was Sunday, the makai entrance gate was locked. This required a steep, slippery detour to the right, although thin, agile hikers may be able to climb over the gate on the left.
Although there is too much work to be done for a normal trail-clearing effort, the route in its present state is scenic, interesting, and well within the capabilities of the average active club hiker.
CLUBHOUSE RESIDENT VACANCY
Mike AlgiersAfter a long tenure as our clubhouse resident, Roger Breton is moving on. His dedication and countless hours of volunteerism in support of the clubhouse are greatly appreciated and will be sorely missed. We thank him very much for his tireless service to HTMC, and wish him well in his new endeavors. If you think that you can fill Roger's large shoes, and are interested in becoming a clubhouse resident, contact Tom Mendes, our new clubhouse committee chairman, at: tjmendes@ hawaii.rr.com (preferred method) or 259-8688.
POAMOHO TRAIL ACCESS
Steve BrownGreat news! According to DLNR, HB 1276 is on the verge of becoming law. This bill, among other things, will allow access to the Poamoho Trail, which has been restricted by the Dole Company. The final step is the governor's signature, which they feel is pretty much a sure thing. Forestry will have to construct a fence along the side of the road, and they will handle the permitting process. Watch for the announcement of the signing ceremony. Access may be available before the end of the year. Mahalo to everyone who has persevered to make this happen!
HIKING INTO PEAK CONDITION[The following article is taken from the AARP Bulletin, March 2005 ----Editor]
Climb up the mountain, and you clear the fat from your blood. Hike down, and you lower your blood sugar. Go in either direction, and you reduce your "bad" cholesterol.
These were the conclusions of a study of 45 normally sedentary people who hiked in the Austrian Alps three to five times a week. Blood samples taken after each trip were matched against samples taken before the study started.
If you're too unfit or weak to scale the peaks, walking downhill still protects against cardiovascular disease and diabetes, says study leader Heinz Drexel, M. D., of the Vorarlberg Institute for Vascular Investigation and Treatment in Feldkirch, Austria. He reported on the study at the 2004 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions.
Renew your membership for 2005!Annual dues are $20, additional family member dues are $10, and for $400, you can be a life time member. Please make your checks payable to HTMC and mail to HTMC, PO Box 2238, Honolulu, HI 96804. An envelope is enclosed for your convenience. Renewals are due by March 1, 2005.
NEWSLETTER SUBMISSIONS
ALONG THE TRAIL is a quarterly publication of the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club designed to inform the membership of club activities and matters of interest to the hiking community. HTMC members and any other interested parties are welcome to submit articles to ALONG THE TRAIL. Submissions must be received by the 5th day of March, June, September, and December in order to appear in the newsletter pub-lished for the following quarter, and may be sent in any of the following ways (email preferred):
email: richard27@hawaii.rr.com
FAX: 293-2554
Phone: 293-2554
Mail: Richard McMahon
57-531 Kamehameha Hwy
Kahuku, HI 96731
Bookmark The HTMC Web Page http://geocities.com/htmclub - or - http://aditl.com/htmc/
Hawaiian Trail & Mountain Club
P.O. Box 2238
Honolulu, HI 96804
Clubhouse: 41-023 Puuone St
Waimanalo, HI 96795
Phone: 259-5443
Comments may be sent to HTMC Newsletter Editor
orhtmc (at) aditl (dot) com